Finding Maggie

Chapter Eight - The Vote

Chapter Eight - The Vote

Corvino felt the twinge ride up his spine as Samael called out to him from the stable. He turned to find Mikhail watching him from his chair at the head of the table. "Is something wrong?" Mikhail asked with suspicion, refusing to break his steely gaze from his one and only friend.

"It's Samael." Corvino replied truthfully. He knew he couldn't lie to Mikhail and had given up trying ages ago. "He's calling me."

"How many did you collect today?"

"Fifteen thousand, five hundred, seventy three."

Mikhail nodded his head slowly. "Better than average." Mikhail scanned the room with care and watched as the other ten members at the table continued their heated argument over Margret. "Go and see." Mikhail said, dismissing Corvino from the room. Corvino stood and gave him a quick bow before turning and dashing as fast as he could for his cloak. If Samael was calling, Mikhail knew that Corvino only felt agonizing suffering to be apart from the noble steed. Equal to tearing out someone's heart and carelessly walking away with it, Corvino would have to answer Samael quickly lest he suffer equally fatal consequences. The bond between the two was inseparable and he had no right to keep them from their calling.

The meeting was taking longer than Mikhail had hoped, but there was little he could do to speed things up. The group had to come to an agreement and he was not supposed to interfere. His only desire was to claim Maggie as his own and it was frustrating beyond imagination that the ability for him to do so was left in the hands of these few.

A shout from outside hit Mikhail's ears and he quickly silenced the group at the table so he could hear the calling. "Lord! Come outside, quickly!" Corvino yelled from the yard outside. Mikhail leaped from his chair and threw open the window. The moment Mikhail looked outside he knew why Samael had been calling his master. He jumped from the window, landing on his feet in the damp grass of the lawn and sprinted to the stables. The four horses were all calling now and the three other men were soon on Mikhail's heels.

Maggie's body was sprawled across the dirt floor under Samael's hooves and the horse danced merrily in his stall as Mikhail and Corvino dashed into the stables. Corvino quieted his horse, praising Samael softly in his ear. Samael lifted his head proudly and whinnied several times before finally going mute to watch. Mikhail felt his knees slam into the dirt next to Maggie's body but he felt no pain as he gently lifted her into his arms. The other three men all reunited with their own horses and begged them to quiet as Mikhail passed them with Maggie limply draped across his chest.

The seven women stood giddy at the front door of the house, all whispering and gossiping amongst themselves as Mikhail pushed them aside. He rushed Maggie upstairs, taking the steps two at a time. Laying her body down on a bed, he knelt on the hardwood floor and placed one of his hands across her breasts. The faintest heartbeat rang through and Mikhail let out a breath that he had been unaware he was holding in. The seven woman were now all huddled in the doorway, continuing their whispered conversation as they watched with scorn.

Palm to palm, Mikhail's hands joined together and he lifted his head to stare at the ceiling above him. As silent words escaped his lips, Maggie suddenly bolted upright and sucked in as much air as she could fit into her lungs. Several of the women hissed and huffed before turning on their heels and strutting away while Maggie sat, trying desperately to catch her breath. Mikhail unceremoniously got off of his knees and carefully sat down on the bed next to her. "Are you alright?" He asked, running his hands through his hair. He suddenly looked quite tired, exhausted actually, though Maggie couldn't quite piece together the reason for his sudden change.

"I think so." Maggie answered, seeing that she was now back inside Mikhail's estate. "What happened?"

"I told you to not go to the stables."